Curt Wilson: An early holiday

We get to leave school early today so they can set up for the Halloween festival. Cool, I love half-days! I'm gonna take a nap, and then Gary and I need to put the finishing touches on our Halloween prank. I sure hope the security guy Gary knows comes through for us, or else it'll be a lot tougher for us to get everything inside the gym. It'll be so cool to see everyone's faces. Of course, we have to act like we don't know what's going on or they'll suspect that we're the ones behind it.

Rev. Hal Carmichael - Thoughts on Halloween

People sometimes ask me if I celebrate Halloween because it's perceived as contrary to my preachings. I tell them that of course I do. Halloween started as a religious holiday. The name Halloween means All Hallows Eve, or the night before All Hallows Day, when all Saints in heaven are honored. The fact that we celebrate it now by dressing up as ghosts, demons, and other monsters does not change my opinion. I realize that the kids do it for fun, not because they worship Satan or another god. If anything my greatest concern with Halloween is with the adults partaking of too much alcohol during the Halloween festival and engaging in activities they will later regret.

Melinda Abodeu: To party or not to party

Bill is so boring. I wanted to throw a big Halloween party this year, the kind of fancy ball you see in the movies where everyone dresses up in expensive costumes and we serve hors d'oeuvres. We'd invite only the most important people in Chyubaer and show them what high-class citizens we've become. But Bill doesn't want to do anything that extravagant. What good is having all this money if you can't spend it, I tell you! If we can't host a big party, then I'm going to find out where the fanciest Halloween party in town is and go to that myself... without him!

Neal Capie: Autumn joy

Perhaps I'm biased, being the mayor of Chyubaer and all, but I can't imagine another town as lovely as this one. Autumn has created a wonderful palette of colors in the local foliage. The trees look magnificent in royal reds and oranges and yellows. I try to take a walk outside in the mornings before the streets are filled with people so that I can soak in the natural sights and smells. Soon, winter will arrive and it'll be too cold to take a morning stroll comfortably, but I still have a few more weeks of autumn to enjoy.

Yesterday, I visited the school, and Mr. Vealter showed me the progress on the haunted house. Spectacular job. I knew we picked the right person to be in charge, even if he's only been in Chyubaer for a couple of years. What we needed was a fresh perspective.

Everything is falling in place for the Halloween festival. I can't wait.

Gary Troutman: What a week

What a bummer of a week. I've been having really bad headaches the last two weeks. I think I even black out sometimes without remembering it. Once I was in math class, and I thought I had just gotten there, and the next thing I knew, class was over. When I asked around, everyone said I looked fine, I hadn't fainted or anything.

Earlier this week, Mr. Hallworth fired me because he said I wasn't doing my work right anymore. I swore that I didn't remember doing any of the things he accused me of doing, but he showed me the inventory sheet I supposedly filled out and all the cleaning supplies with the wrong price tags on them. I don't know if someone is playing a prank or setting me up, but this isn't funny anymore.

Allison Reddenstone: Second thoughts

I don't want to go to the Halloween festival anymore. I just don't see the point in it. It's mostly for the little kids, or for the grown-ups who want to get together and chat. Carol and Stacy are still psyched about the festival, and they already know what they're going to dress up as. I don't have a costume yet, but that's not the reason why I don't want to go. Or maybe I don't have a costume because I don't want to go.

I had another dream last night that I was flying. I flew over the town and into the clouds and then onto the next town, and then the next. It felt great to break free from the shackles this town imposes on me.

Joey Wachter: Hamburger overload

I never thought I'd be sick of eating hamburgers. We've been eating out the last five days because there's no room in the kitchen for cooking and no room in the dining room for us to eat. I thought it'd be the greatest thing in the world to eat out everyday, but now that I've had hamburgers for five straight days, I'm not so excited anymore. Rachel said I should order something else, but what's better than hamburger???

Bill Abodeu: Why aren't I happier about this car?

Last night, after I got back from the mayor's place, I found a brand new car sitting in the driveway. I thought we had company, but then Melinda told me the car was a gift. At first, I was happy to get it, but then I started to feel bad. We certainly have the money to afford these luxuries, but I don't need a new car, much less a new sports car that makes me look like an old fool riding in it. I know Melinda means well because my old car was getting... eh, unpredictable. I hope I don't get teased a lot by the other guys for driving it.

Tim Vealter: It's going to be a long week

How did I get roped into being in charge of the haunted house? Is it because I'm the newest teacher in town, and this is the way to pay my dues? It's not that I mind doing the work itself, because it'll be fun to see the gym converted into a haunted house. However, since we have to start setting up mid-next week, that means some inconveniences for teachers and students who normally use the gym. Not only do I have to find a place to relocate them to during recess, but I'm the one they're going to be upset at for the changes. Not to mention that ever since the smoke bomb at last year's Halloween, it's now my responsibility to make sure no pranks disrupt this year's festivities.

Stacy Hubbard: Shopping for costumes

After school, Allie, Carol, and I went shopping for costumes to wear to the Halloween festival. Carol wanted something cute, like a princess costume, but Allie and I wanted to be something scary. Carol found her costume right away at the first store we went to, and I saw a she-devil costume I liked. Allie had a harder time. We went to every store in town that sold costumes, but nothing appealed to her. She said nothing was scary enough. So we decided to try again today. Allie said if she doesn't find anything this weekend, she'll try to make her own costume. Good luck on that.

Larry Hallworth: Good help is hard to find

I don't know what's gotten into that Troutman kid. Yesterday, I asked him to inventory the sporting goods department, and his tally showed we had 1 of everything! Before I got on his case, I checked to make sure we actually had more in stock, and we surely did. When I confronted him about it, he didn't say a word, just up and left. Good riddance. He's been as reliable as a broken watch lately. Wonder what his parents are going to say about him losing his job, poor folks. Now I have to find me another helping hand, and right before the Halloween festival too.

Lisa Wachter: Kitchen disaster area

Still over a week to go until the Halloween party, and our house is a mess already. The kitchen and dining room is filled with ingredients for making candies and cookies. We hardly have room to prepare our own meals and eat them. We had mostly leftovers yesterday because I didn't want to deal with trying to find space to cut and cook. Dan said that we should eat out for the next ten days! Of course, the kids are all excited about that, but we'll see.

Curt Wilson: A Halloween surprise

Oh man, I didn't think I was gonna finish the paper for Mr. Vealter's class on time. Now it's 4:00 AM, and I'm finally done, but I'm still too wired to go to sleep before school starts in the morning. I'm gonna be hating life tomorrow... uh, I mean, today.

By the way, Gary and I thought up a great Halloween prank. And this year, it won't be anything as dangerous as nearly setting the whole school on fire like we did last year. Good thing no one found out it was us. This year, we're just trying to give everyone a good scare. It's all in the name of fun, you know.

Melinda Abodeu: Car problems

You'd think we could afford to fix the car, or buy a new car, but Bill insists on driving that old clunker to work everyday. Makes him feel like another one of the guys, he says. What a disgrace. You wouldn't catch me in that thing, fixed or not.

I'm gonna ask the mechanic to come by and fix that piece of junk this weekend when Bill's not using it. Or better yet, I'll surprise him with a new car! Early Christmas present? Good idea.

Neal Capie: Halloween preparations

I am excited about our upcoming Halloween festival. Last night, we finalized the designs for the haunted house. Mr. Dale and Mr. Hallworth were very generous in offering to donate most of the supplies we need from their stores, and Mrs. Wachter offered to provide candy treats, including her delectable chocolate fruit swirls. The kids will love this year's festival!

A welcome from the mayor

Greetings,

On behalf of myself and all of the residents of Chyubaer, I welcome you to our humble town. While our population is small, we more than make up for it through hospitality and hard work. I hope you will take the time to visit our town and the wonderful folks who live here. If there is anything that you desire to make your visit more enjoyable, do not hesitate to contact me.

Neal S. Capie
Mayor of Chyubaer